Jan 15 3 Simple Ways to Keep Your Email From Getting Hacked

Email hacking and data breaches are at the top of the news cycle every day; however, Hillary Clinton, the DNC, Yahoo! and Target aren't the only victims of hacking and data breaches. As the recent hack of Yahoo demonstrates, even big corporations with major IT budgets can be hacked. Just because you're not a big name, doesn't mean you're not getting hacked.

1. Your Password is Your Greatest Defense

One of the simplest ways to protect your information is to practice good password security. The basic rules: Have a strong password. Use a different password for every service you sign up for. Keep these passwords private, and never share them over online communications.

Don't use common word or number combinations that you can easily remember - this means a hacker can easily figure it out. Don't use hobbies, names or anything you may have mentioned on social media. For instance, if your dog, Cuddles, is on your facebook profile and you mention in that post that January 19th is his birthday, a hacker is sure to try every variation of Cuddles0119 he can think of. It's the obvious choice. Some security experts suggest writing an entire sentence; however, that can get tricky with password character limits.

2. Try a Password Tool

Need help with passwords? There are tools to help. LastPass, for example, is a browser extension that automatically generates tough passwords and keeps track of login information for your many online services. And if you don’t trust LastPass to protect your encrypted password cache, you could try an open source version like KeePass. Improving your password techniques will keep you safer.

3. Don't send sensitive information via text or email.

We should always be mindful of what we write in our emails. Never send sensitive or private information like Social Security numbers or financial information over unencrypted emails or chats. To the greatest extent possible, try not to put any information online that you would not have comfortable being made public.

If you must send sensitive information via text or email, encrypt is or create your own code to decipher it.

Try better ways of sending sensitive information. Try a self-destruct file sharing service like http://oneshar.es/ The service creates a private URL with your information for you to share. Your data is encrypted. Once someone visits your private URL you provide them, the information is unlocked and the message is deleted into the digital ether.